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Combat Maneuvers
All attacks must use a deliberately targeted Maneuver - you can’t just flail away randomly and hope to hit somebody! There are three different types of attacking Maneuvers, each of which must be aimed at a particular Target Zone. To attack, a player must state the Maneuver he is using, how many of his Combat Pool dice he is spending on the attack, and which Target Zone he is aiming for. __TOC__ Attacking Target Number Roll the dice you’'ve stated you’'re spending. Your Attacking Target Number, or'' ATN'', is set by the weapon and Maneuver you’'re using (see Weapons and Armor, for details). Make a note of how many Successes are scored on this attack; this will determine your damage, if you hit. If you fumble your Attack roll, you immediately lose half the dice you just spent on your attack from your remaining Combat Pool –(CP). E.G. If your Combat Pool is 12 and you fumble a Swing for 6 dice, you lose 3 dice at the beginning of the next Exchange. Melee Offensive Maneuvers There are three Melee Offensive Maneuvers in Melee combat: Thrust, Swing and Feint. Thrust Driving a weapon or blow home with a straight lunge or stab. Thrusts are very fast, but lose the extra damage of a swing’s angular momentum; you gain an extra die to use in your attack roll, but must reduce the damage done on a successful hit by one level. You can spend an additional CP die before you roll to eliminate this damage reduction, if successful. Swing The elemental attack for most melee weapons: swinging them through an arc to add the weight of momentum and leverage to its impact. As with Thrusts, you can spend an additional CP die before rolling to boost the damage of a successful hit by 1 level. Feint A deceptive maneuver designed to “fake out” the defender. The attacker must first announce a Thrust or Swing to his initial Target Zone as above; after the defender declares his defense, the attacker can spend 1 CP die to call, “Feint!” and changes the Target Zone while adding extra dice to his attack, at an additional cost of 1 CP for every extra die added. The new Target Zone should be fairly near to the original – pulling off a huge change in direction, like feinting at the feet and then attacking the head, will cost 2 CP dice for every die added to the true attack. Example Geralt, with a CP of 13, is facing off against Stefan, an old enemy. He decides to go for a Feint, and declares a Swing for Stefan'’s left leg (Target Zone II) for 6 dice. Stefan declares a Block for 5 dice (he has a shield, and is feeling pretty safe). However, Geralt then spends 1 of his 7 remaining dice and calls “''Feint''! Now I’'m swinging for Stefan’'s side!” He spends 3 dice and adds the last 3 dice to his Swing, which is now 9 dice to Target Zone III against Stefan'’s measly 5. Geralt has a much better chance of getting that blow home now.... Target Zones The seven Target Zones are numbered using Roman Numerals to avoid confusion with dice values during explanation. They are as follows: Remember the location of your hit; it will be vital in determining the effects of your blow later. Melee Defensive Maneuvers There are four Defensive Maneuvers: Block, Parry, Dodge and Counter. Block – Getting your shield (if you have one) in the way of the attacker’'s weapon. The Defending Target Number (DTN) is set by the type of shield used; see Weapons and Armor. Shields also provide a certain level of passive protection, equalling anywhere from 4 to 10 points of protection to Target Zones III, IV, VII and possibly even V and VI, depending on size. If you do not have a shield, you cannot Block. Parry – Using your weapon to deflect the attacker’'s weapon away from or past you. The DTN is set by your choice of weapon -– it’'s easier to parry with a rapier than a battleaxe! Dodge Getting the hell out of the way. This is the simplest defense in one way, and the hardest in another; it leaves your weapon open for use but may have a higher DTN, depending on what you'’re trying to do. There are three different types of Dodge, and you must state which you are using: *Dodge and Break (DTN 4): Full evasion or retreat – you’ve broken off combat, and no attack is possible for either party in the next exchange. A new Initiative Throwdown must be held. You cannot Dodge and Break immediately after your own attack. *Dodge and Stand (DTN 7): Partial evasion – if successful, you can steal initiative on the next exchange, becoming the attacker, by paying 2 CP dice. You can also steal initiative for no cost if your opponent fails completely (rolls no successes) or fumbles. *Duck and Weave (DTN 9): Step inside the attacker’s blow to gain an advantageous position. If you win, you steal initiative, and the attacker loses half the CP dice he spent on his attack from his Combat Pool, as if he had fumbled his Attack Roll. Counter Also known as the riposte, a Counter turns the attacker’s attack against him. To use a Counter, you must spend 2 CP dice immediately and then allocate dice as if Parrying, at the weapon’s standard DTN. If you succeed, you steal initiative and gain bonus dice on your attack equal to every die used in the attacker’s roll; if you fail, the attacker gets an extra success on his attack, increasing his Damage Level. Missile Combat Missile Combat functions a little differently from melee, although it also draws on a Dice Pool: your Missile Pool, which is the sum of your Coordination and your Proficiency in the missile weapon you'’re using. The Missile Pool (MP) begins at 0 and refreshes to its maximum size (Coordination + Missile Proficiency, as above) at a rate equal to your Wits per round, beginning once the missile weapon is ready and in position to fire. Thus, a character with Wits 6 and Missile Pool 12 would gain the full benefit of all 12 dice after 2 seconds of aiming (though you cannot gain more dice than are normally in your Pool). Once a shot is fired, the Missile Pool drops to 0 and begins to refresh again at the same rate. Most weapons require a little preparation time before they are ready to fire, especially between shots. Haste, hesitation or circumstances can shorten or lengthen this time. You can reduce your prep time by spending MP from your Pool; each weapon has its own MP cost for hurried preparation (see Missile Weapons). Range is also a key factor in successful missile fire. Each ranged weapon has a Range Increment which increases TN at every interval of this distance. Example If a weapon has an RI of “+1 per 10 yards,” the base TN increases by 1 for every 10 yards to the target –so: *All shots at 0 to 9 yards are made at the weapon’s base TN; *All shots at 10 to 19 yards are at +1 TN; *All shots at 20 to 29 yards are at +2 TN; *... Category:Combat